Can-opener.



No. 849,929. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

' A. G. SNOWDON.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1906.

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No. 849,929.- PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.1 A. msuownou.

GAN OPENER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1906.

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ARCHIBALD GRANT sNowDoN, or WESTMOUNT, QUEBEC, oANAnA.

CAN-OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed August 2, 1906. Serial No. 328,930.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AROHIBALD GRANT SNowDoN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Westmount, in the Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in can-openers and the object of the invention is to devise a can-opener whereby the end piece of the can may be completely out out, and thus permit the removal of the contents of the can without breakage, this being-particularly essential when the can contains solids, such as meats and ellies, and also to provide an instrument which shall facilitate the work of opening the can and at the same time be inexpensive to construct; and it consists, essentially, of a pivot member and a knife having a suitable handle traveling on the said pivot member, as hereinafter more particularly explained in detail.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my opener placed in position on a can in readiness for the operation of opening. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the device. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view through A B in Fig. 2-. Fig. 4 is a crosssectional view through C D in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional perspective view of a modified form of my can-opener, showing the knife side uppermost. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the modified form SllOWIl in Fig. 5, having the upper half of the handle thereof removed.

Referring to the drawings, a is the pivotbar, terminating at one end in the spear-point b. The said spear-point b is offset from the said bar and elbowed at c, the offset above the elbow c forming the journal of the pivotbearing formed at the top of the can, as explained more fully hereinafter. The pivotbar a has a longitudinal slot at extending therealong and therethrough for the greater portion of the length of the said bar.

a is a hollow handle, herein shown and described as formed of two pieces f and g, though it must be understood that it may be made of one or more pieces and in many different forms. The handle 6 when assembled is closed at one end and at the other has the opening it leading into longitudinal slots '5 in the inner wall, forming slideways for the bar a when inserted through the opening h. In the outside surface of the iece g of the handle and at the inner end t ereof is the recess j, and in this recess the body ortion of the knife is introduced, the bla e Z extending beyond the inner end of said piece g. m is an orifice through the body portion of the said knife, registering with the orifices n and 0 in the pieces g and f, respectively. p is a rivet inserted through the orifices o, n, and m and firmly holding the pieces f 9 together at the inner end and also the knife 7: to the said piece g. The handle at the other end is held together by a common locking device namely, the tongue 9, extending from the piece f into the orifice r in the piece 9. The rivet p also extends through the slot d in the pivot-bar a and in operation slides therein at the will of the user.

In order to open a can, the handle a is firmly grasped in the hand and the spearpoint forced through the center of the top of the can. The handle is then brought down to a horizontal position from the vertical position in which it necessarily is, when the spearpoint is forced-through the tin, and at t 1e same time the handle is pulled outwardly, the rivet sliding along in the slot (1 in the pivot-bar a. This action will leave the knife clear of the edge of the can and permit the pivot-bar to rest on the top of the can, thus bringing the spear-point b in such a position that the actual penetrating-point is in the interior of the can and the portion above the elbow 0 bearing on the edges of the hole which has been perforated in the tin at the top of the can. The handle 0 is now forced inwardly, the rivet sliding, as before, in the slot (1, and this inward movement of the handle is continued until the blade of the knife it has penetrated the tin of the side wall of the can immediately below the top end of the can. The knife by means of the handle e is now drawn around the can, making a cut through the side wall completely therearound, the spear-point I) inserted in the center of the tin being the pivot-point from which the cut is made in the wall of the can. In this manner the complete top of the can is removed, leaving the side walls and none of the top. Infact,theextreme upper ortionof the side wall is also removed with t e top.

The advantage of this invention will appeal particularly to those using tinned meats and ellies, where it is extremely essential to remove the'food in a perfect shape and serve so, and with the present appliances for opening cans it is almost impossible to accomplish this result, and, again, it may be said that there is a much better purchase with the instrument in opening the can with such a device as herein described, for there is practically no exertion in the operation, no downward pressure, and. no fear of injuring the hand during the operation of opening, simply a matter of turning the can or drawing the knife around the can.

It must be understood that the scope of this invention is not confined to the particular construction of the parts as described and shown hereinas, for instance, the pivot-bar may be made in many different ways with or without the longitudinal slot and the handle may also be of completely different form, and the assembling of the parts consequently changed. The salient features are the pivotlever and a knife separate from said lever and connected therewith and adapted to engage the side walls of the can.

The application of this device is shown to a round can; but it will readily be understood that it may be applied with equal facility to a can of any shape, for the handle, sliding as it does in the pivot-bar in carrying the knife, will accommodate itself during the action of cutting to any form of can-surface.

In Fig. 5 the pivotbar' sis formed as a solid piece and is preferably of oval or round formation, having a similar point for insertion into the can, as the pivot-bar a. t are lugs at the inner end of the pivot-b ar, and it must be here understood that there may be only one lug, or the said lugs may be formed in many different ways for striking any stop formed in the handle. In this form of my invention I have shown two rivets u toward the open end of the handle, against which the lugs 25 strike when the said pivot-bar reaches its extreme outer position. The remaining features of the invention are the same with the one exception that I have shown the knife as proj ecting from and forming part with an offset 1) from the lower plate w of the handle and in a parallel direction with the latter.

It will readily be seen that many slight modifications may be made and yet retain the salient features of my invention.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A can-opener, comprising a case formed of the upper and lower pieces adapted to fit together and leave an opening at one end thereof and form a guideway in the interior, a bar freely sliding in said guideway and extending through said opening and having at the outer end thereof an offset, and a sharpened point from said offset, a rivet holding said pieces together, and means for retaining said bar in the case on the said bar reaching its extreme outer position, as and for the purpose specified.

2. A can-opener comprising a bar longitudinally slotted and having an offset spearpoint at one end forming a pivot-journal bearing in an end wall of the can, a hollowhandle, a pin projecting into said longitudinal slot from said handle, and a knife rigidly secured to said handle at the inner end thereof having the blade portion projecting therebeyond, as and for the purpose specified.

3. A can-opener comprising a hollow handle having longitudinal slideways arranged therein, and a recess on its lower side surface, an elongated bar having a longitudinal slot therein and a reduced and bent end terminating in a jabbing-point, said bar being adapted to slide in the aforesaid slideways, a knife introduced into said recess having the blade portion projecting beyond said handle, and adapted to engage the side wall of the can, and a pin extending through said slot and securing said handle and knife together, as and for the purpose specified.

l. A can-opener comprising a hollow handle formed of two pieces having an opening at the end thereof and slideways longitudinally arranged in the interior wall, a pivot member having a jabbing-point at one end and a longitudinal slot therethrough, a knife extending from the lower part of said handle and a rivet extending through said longitudinal slot and holding said handle-pieces sepiuflely together, as and for the purpose speci- Signed at the city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada, this 30th day of July, 1906,

A ROHIBALD GRANT SNOWDON.

Witnesses:

LLOYD BLACKMORE, D. W. CoTroN. 

